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In Cleveland, hope dies last

23 Dec 2014

Browns delivering latest in a series of strange seasons

Even when you take into account all the strange things we wish we could unsee from the Cleveland Browns since 1999, this season has still been one of the more stranger ones from the guys in Orange and Brown.

Once 6-3 and dreaming of the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2002, the Browns must win on Sunday in Baltimore to avoid posting a losing record for the seventh consecutive season.

And they may be forced to do it with a third-string quarterback starting the season finale for the third year in the row and the fourth time in the past five seasons. (File that one under, “the more things change the more they stay the same.”)

If undrafted rookie Connor Shaw joins Jason Campbell, Thaddeus Lewis, Bruce Gradkowski and Colt McCoy on the list of forgettable quarterbacks it would be a fitting end to a once-promising season.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

21 Dec 2014

Another typical December afternoon for the Browns

It was another typical December afternoon for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in Charlotte.

We just never thought we’d see it from this team.

The Browns delivered an uninspired effort in losing the Carolina Panthers, the Browns 11th consecutive loss in the month of December. It’s been more than two years since the Browns won a game in the final month of the calendar year and, dating back to the 2010 season, are now 3-20 in the month of December.

The short-term view of the loss means that the Browns, who were once 6-3 this season, can’t post a winning record this year – the best they can do is beat a Baltimore team that is fighting for a playoff spot next week to grab a .500 record. For a team that hasn’t won more than five games since 2007 that’s not an altogether bad outcome, but will still be disappointing based on where the Browns were just a few weeks ago.

The long-term view shows that the Browns have plenty of problems, especially when it comes to the offense.

20 Dec 2014

Michael Stanley transports audience back in time

On Friday night we and the missus joined some friends for a concert at the Rocksino in Northfield featuring Michael Stanley and the Resonators along with Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.

This was our first visit to the venue since they added gaming to the old Northfield Park harness track and it was … interesting. When you first walk in the door it sounds and smells exactly like a casino. (Anyone who has ever been to Las Vegas knows what we mean.)

Things get a bit disorienting, however, as you weave your way through a sea of seemingly endless slot machines, complete with people slumped over and staring vacantly at the colorful video screens, because you never come across a sports book or any gaming tables.

Once we entered the concert area things took a turn for the better. The venue is big enough that you feel like you are at an event, but small enough that you have the experience of being at an intimate event.

Posted in Cleveland and tagged Cleveland, Michael Stanley | Leave a comment

19 Dec 2014

It only took Johnny Football one game to break Cleveland

One game.

One historically poor game is all it took for rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel to break a large part of Cleveland.

It started with Kevin Kiley, co-host of the embarrassing Kiley & Booms radio show, going on NFL AM and portraying head coach Mike Pettine as nothing more than a puppet of owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager Ray Farmer. Kiley claimed, with no supporting evidence and against everything that we’ve seen from the team this year, that Pettine only turned to Manziel because he was ordered to by the front office.

It continued with Greg Couch, who wrote at RollingStone.com that it was actually Pettine’s decision to start Manziel, but he only did it to prove to Haslam and Farmer that Manziel is not an NFL quarterback. Still somewhat implausible, but at least Couch had the self-awareness and decency to state that he had no proof for his conspiracy theory. (h/t to Cleveland Frowns for pointing out that article.)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Johnny Manziel and tagged Cleveland Browns, Mike Pettine | Leave a comment

14 Dec 2014

2 Comments

Well, wasn’t that something special today?

There are plenty of storylines to discuss following the Cleveland Browns disappointing 30-0 loss on Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals.

We could talk about how a team that was once 7-4 now needs to win at least one of its final two games to avoid its seventh consecutive losing season.

Or perhaps we can examine how a defense that looked some dominant the past two weeks gave up 244 rushing yards and allowed Jeremy Hill to rush for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

Speaking of the running game, how about Isaiah Crowell rushing for all of 17 yards on seven carries? In his past three games, the Crow has rushed 38 times for a 2.6 yard-per-carry average. But he has a cool Twitter handle, so apparently all is good.

Maybe you’d be interested in looking at how, on the game’s opening drive, the Bengals were the beneficiaries of three questionable penalty calls – a non-call on a blatant hold against Paul Kruger, and two dubious penalties against the Browns on third downs that kept Cincinnati’s touchdown drive.

But let’s be realistic; there is only one story that needs to be discussed following what is unquestionably the Browns worse loss of the year, and that is the first start by rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Posted in AFC North, Cleveland Browns, Johnny Manziel

10 Dec 2014

Johnny on the spot

The Cleveland Browns made it official earlier today – it’s time for Johnny Football to take over.

In announcing the switch, head coach Mike Pettine challenged the entire offense to step up its game over the final three weeks of the season.

“The move was made because of the lack of performance at the (quarterback) position over the last four games … but (the offensive players) have to understand it was as a unit,” Pettine said. “If we don’t pick up our play around the quarterback, we’d be extremely foolish to expect different results.

“I challenged the team today. We all share in the joy of a win; we all share in the agony of a loss. Everybody has to pick up their play as we head down the stretch.”

We have to preface everything we are about to write by pointing out that this is 100 percent the correct call. Brian Hoyer, at least as far as this season is concerned, has hit his ceiling as the starting quarterback for the Browns and a change needed to be made.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Brian Hoyer, Cleveland Browns, Johnny Manziel | Leave a comment

09 Dec 2014

3 Comments

Don’t blame Mike Pettine for being loyal to his players

There are plenty of words to describe the Cleveland Browns loss to Indianapolis on Sunday.

Disappointing. Frustrating. Exasperating. Frustrating. Take your pick – they all work.

Even though the loss probably put an end to the Browns hopes of making the playoffs, that doesn’t mean that head coach Mike Pettine was wrong to stick with Brian Hoyer as the starting quarterback for the game.

Hoyer received a lot – OK, probably all – the blame from many quarters for the loss, but we still understand Pettine’s reasons for keeping Hoyer in the starting spot. They made sense, regardless of the outcome, and reveal why we believe that no matter how strange the coaching search was last winter, the Browns walked away with a coach who gets it.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

07 Dec 2014

1 Comment

Browns season may have come to a close in loss to Colts

The Cleveland Browns entered Sunday’s game against Indianapolis knowing that one more loss and their dreams of making the playoffs this season were down.

Head coach Mike Pettine and the team went into the biggest game of the year backing quarterback Brian Hoyer, who was coming off a five-game stretch during November that featured some of the poorest quarterback play seen in these parts in a while – and that’s saying something.

On Sunday, the team had Hoyer’s back (except for running backs Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, who averaged just 3.7 yards per carry against a Colts defense that came into the game giving up 4.5 per carry. Oh, and kicker Billy Cundiff; definitely Cundiff.) But Hoyer couldn’t reward the faith that his coach and his teammates had shown in him.

And because of that, the season is pretty much over for the Browns.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

06 Dec 2014

Can Brian Hoyer reward Mike Pettine’s faith in him?

The Cleveland Browns return home on Sunday to face the Indianapolis Colts in the penultimate home game of the 2014 NFL season.

It seems like only yesterday that quarterback Brian Hoyer was rallying the Browns in the second half of the season-opening game against Pittsburgh.

Now the Browns need that Hoyer (or at least a close proximity) to show up if they hope to turn an encouraging season into a special one.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns | Leave a comment

02 Dec 2014

Is it time to unleash Johnny Football on the NFL?

Who should get the starting nod at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns this Sunday against Indianapolis – Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel?

That’s the question facing head coach Mike Pettine, and if he gets the answer correct the Browns just may be able to extend the season into January.

Hoyer has forced the coaching staff into making a decision based on his play during the month of November. Despite helping the Browns go 3-2 over a five-game stretch, Hoyer only completed 54 percent of his passes, while throwing for three touchdowns against eight interceptions, resulting in a quarterback rating of 66.2 for the month.

That performance is reminiscent of Derek Anderson’s December to forget in 2007, when he put up a month that saw him complete 53 percent of his passes, threw eight interceptions against seven touchdowns, and posted a quarterback rating of 66.6 as the Browns missed out on a playoff spot.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns | Leave a comment

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